A New Beginning

Opened in 1992, the original course at Laguna Phuket was an archetypal resort layout. While certainly enjoyable enough to play for the large numbers of holidaymakers that came through, its age, exacerbated in these tropical climes, was starting to show and the conditions of the playing surfaces suffered. Renovation was clearly in order.

Although this has been billed as a redesign, Jansen’s work has essentially resulted in a completely new course. The nines have been reversed, which means the 18th now rightly finishes in front of the lovingly-appointed clubhouse, and despite the routing remaining largely untouched, the removal of a great many trees, the reshaping of the playing areas, the inclusion of completely new bunkering and a change of grass type (the tee boxes, fairways and roughs are all made up of low-maintenance Zoysia, while the re-contoured greens have been carpeted with a silky Bermuda TifEagle varietal) means that even regular visitors can be forgiven for thinking they’d never set foot on the course before.